Ageing population in China

China has experienced rapid economic growth over the past decade or so, but this is jeopardised by an ageing population. This link will take you to a short BBC video report about what is happening in China and the problems they could experience. In 20 years the number of Chinese aged 60+ will double, meaning there will be more retired people in China than the entire population of Western Europe.

What can be done about ageing population? Are there any solutions? Is an ageing population entirely negative, or can we find positives? Where else in the world do we see an ageing of the population and why is this happening?

Click here to read an in depth BBC report on China's ageing population from Sept 20th 2012.
More details on China's ageing population
The economic time bomb - China growing old before it can grow rich? May 2012

2011 UK census - results published yesterday

Every 10 years the country undertakes the Census, where each household is expected to return a form detailing who lives in the house and information about them. This information is the used to inform us about the country, how it is changing and what we all need to help the run successfully. Because there are so many census forms and so much data to collect, it takes a long time for the information to be processed and published, but yesterday saw the release of the 2011 census information. It has told us a lot about the changes that have taken place over the last 10 years since the 2001 census. This link  will take you to an interesting article about some of those changes, but here are some facts taken from the published results:

1. The population has risen to 56.1 million, an increase of 7.6% over the past 10 years
2. 1 in 6 people are aged 65 or over. This is a figure that is increasing quickly and is clear evidence of an ageing population
3. There are half a million more women than men in the country - this could be because women live longer or just that women are better at filling n forms than men.
4. The average number of people per house is 2.4 (this compares to 4.3 in 1911)
5. Manchester was one of the fastest growing places in the country and now has 500,000 people living there. The authorities there are pleased about this as it means more funds and they thought they didn't have enough people in the last census.
6. The average age of a person in Britain is 39 (in 1911 the figure was 25, showing just how much longer we are living now)
7. In 1911 there were 13,000 people aged 90+ in Britain, in 2001 this figure had risen to 340,000 and now, in 2011 it has shot up to 430,000
8. London is easily the most crowded part of the country, with 5200 people per square kilometre. The rest of the country averages out at 321 people per sq.km.

Ageing Population SDME resources and revision

Ageing population podcast - could help with SDME retake exam for Year 11s
Click here for podcast


An excellent site with resources designed to help you revise and understand the SDME and ageing population - use it!
http://www.geographypods.com/june-2012.html


A useful website with some information about Ageing population
http://www.21stcenturychallenges.org/focus/britains-greying-population/

June GCSE SDME exam (re-take)

The date of the exam is Thursday 14th June (am)
The exam has this title: The old age saga - why does an older population pose challenges for us all?

There is pre-release booklet that you will be issued with and some practice questions and resources. Your job will be to work through this material, revise about ageing populations and make sure that you are happy with the different challenges ageing population presents and how it can be managed.

You should speak to your teacher if you are not provided with these materials asap.

South Koreans told to go home and make babies

South Korean government workers are being given an unusual instruction - go home and multiply.

At 1900 on Wednesday, officials at the Ministry of Health will turn off all the lights in the building. The country has one of the world's lowest birth rates, lower even than neighbouring Japan. South Korea's birth rate stood at 1.19 children per woman in 2008

Boosting the number of newborn children is a priority for the government, which is staring into the abyss of a rapidly ageing society, falling levels of manpower and spiralling health care costs.

The Ministry of Health, now sometimes jokingly referred to as the Ministry of Matchmaking, is in charge of spearheading this drive, and it clearly believes its staff should lead by example.

Generous gift vouchers are on offer for officials who have more than one child, and the department organises social gatherings in the hope of fostering love amongst its bureaucrats.

Although this seems like an odd story, it is a really useful example of how to manage populations and the concern an ageing population can cause.

Click here for further information
Click here for more detail

Click the title to read more and see a video clip

Bosses call for later pension age

The UK state pension age should increase to 70 as soon as possible because people are living longer, the Institute of Directors (IoD) has said. The savings should be used to raise the basic state pension, it suggested.

A spokesman said:
"In 1950, somebody who retired at 65 was projected to live another 12 years. Now it is 19 years and by the middle of this century it is going to be between 20 and 22 years."

Women's retirement age is already being gradually increased from 60 to 65 to bring them in line with men. The Government want to delay pensions until 66 by 2026, while the Conservatives have proposed making people work until 66 by 2016

Another suggestion is that income tax should increase so that the Government could get enough money to help fund pensions and look after the elderly.